Merton shortlisted for two local government awards

Merton Council’s Children’s Services team and its Sustainable Communities team have both been shortlisted for a top local government award in their respective categories of the Local Government Chronicle Awards 2018.

The shortlisting for Best Children’s Services comes just two months after Merton Council received an overall “Good” Ofsted rating for its Children’s Services department, putting the local authority among the top performers in the country. Merton Safeguarding Children Board is one of just five nationally to be rated “Outstanding” by Ofsted.

The council’s Brighter Business support scheme was shortlisted in the Environmental Services category and was run by its regeneration team, Future Merton. It offered energy efficiency support to local small businesses to help reduce their running costs and environmental impact . The service provided a free premises energy efficiency service, advice on how to reduce running costs and grant funding to help with the cost of installing energy efficiency improvement measures. Over 70 local businesses benefitted from the scheme. Total potential savings of over £95,000 and 370 tonnes of CO2 per year were identified in all participating businesses.

Merton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Councillor Katy Neep said: “Congratulations to the Children’s Services department on being shortlisted for this prestigious local government award. It is a fantastic achievement and testament to the commitment, passion and hard work that our staff and our partners put into ensuring that our young people get the best start in life.”

Merton Council’s Cabinet Member for regeneration, environment and housing Councillor Martin Whelton said: “It’s great news that Merton has been shortlisted for this award. We work hard to make Merton a great place to do business. Our small businesses are the backbone of our local economy and it’s always fantastic to see them thrive. Helping our businesses become more green and energy efficient makes both financial and environmental sense. I wish them every success on the night.”